Thanjavur Paintings depicts the tales of Krishna love for milk and butter, this painting depicts the story of stealing butter from neighborhood houses which were kept in a dark room and make the place bright with the valuable jewels on Their bodies. The frame is made from hardwood and is in the Chettinad style. Some parts of the painting are embossed by painting with a mixture of chalk powder and arabic gum (gesso work). This painting took a master craftsman almost a month to complete.

Thanjavur (Tanjore) is an ancient city built in the fertile delta of the Cauvery river in Tamil Nadu, around 350 kilometres from Chennai (Madras). It is here that this style of painting was developed during the rule of the Marathas during the 17th & 19th centuries. Raja Sarabhoji (Serfoji II), who belonged to the Bhonsle clan of Marathas and descended from Chhatrapati Shivaji’s half brother Venkoji, played a crucial role in nurturing this art form.

The easiest way to differentiate between Thanjavur & Mysore paintings is that the former uses a lot of gemstones and gold leaf, whereas the latter has more intricate details and doesn’t have any gemstones.